Written Answers Thursday 18 August 2005

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) police reports and (b) written warnings concerning children in respect of alcohol-related crime there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The information requested by the member is not held centrally.

Alcohol Misuse

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions have taken place for under-age drinking in each year since 1990, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following table.

  Persons Proceeded Against for Under-Age Drinking1,2, by Police Force Area, 1990-2003

  

Police Force
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003


Central 
3
0
2
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
6
3


Dumfries and Galloway
2
1
4
0
2
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
0


Fife 
4
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
2
5
0
2
1
6


Grampian 
8
9
6
1
0
2
0
0
2
2
0
0
0
0


Lothian and Borders 
20
9
1
2
1
1
4
2
4
4
0
1
1
3


Northern 
12
6
5
5
2
7
5
7
3
3
0
1
7
2


Strathclyde 
12
13
6
15
9
17
81
163
176
136
93
127
96
187


Tayside 
5
15
2
3
5
2
4
3
5
6
8
14
9
7


Scotland
66
53
26
27
21
30
96
177
193
156
102
147
121
208



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes persons aged under 18 proceeded against for buying excisable liquor or consuming in a bar, or for contraventions of bye-laws prohibiting the consumption of alcohol in designated places.

Cancer

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the waiting list figures for cancer care were in each NHS board area in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Andy Kerr: There are no discrete waiting lists for cancer treatment which can take place in either an out-patient or in-patient setting. As soon as a cancer diagnosis is confirmed treatment is discussed and agreed between the consultants concerned and their patient and appropriate arrangements made to commence that treatment as rapidly as possible, dependent on the patient’s own circumstances.

  Performance of NHS boards against the Scottish Executive 2005 national waiting times target for cancer is currently available for breast, colorectal, lung and ovarian cancers and can be found on the Executive’s website at www.scotland.gov.uk.

Coastguard Service

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many emergency calls were made to the coastguard service in each of the last five years and how many such calls were found to be hoaxes.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to the coastguard service. Her Majesty’s Coastguard is part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which is an executive agency of the Department for Transport.

Drug Misuse

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered drug misusers there have been in each of the last three years in each (a) NHS board and (b) local authority area, showing year-on-year percentage changes and expressed also on a per capita basis.

Hugh Henry: There is no central register of problem drug users in Scotland.

Economy

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what Scottish Gross Value Added was in each year from 1997.

Nicol Stephen: The following table provides the Gross Value Added (GVA) for Scotland for each year from 1997 to 2003.

  Table: Scottish Gross Value Added (GVA), 1997 to 2003

  

£ Million
GVA


1997
60,898


1998
63,344


1999
65,340


2000
67,670


2001
70,440


2002
74,058


2003
77,929



  Source: Office for National Statistics: Regional Accounts.

Economy

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14194 by Mr Jim Wallace on 1 March 2005, what Scottish Gross Value Added would have been in each year since 1997 had its growth rate since 1997 matched the UK average.

Nicol Stephen: The following table provides figures of the Scottish Gross Value Added (GVA), if Scottish growth had matched the UK average (excluding extra-regio) between 1997 and 2003.

  Table: Scottish Gross Value Added (GVA) if Scottish Growth had Matched the UK Average, 1997–2003

  

£ Million
GVA


1997
60,898


1998
64,711


1999
67,633


2000
70,559


2001
74,296


2002
78,289


2003
82,237



  Source: Office for National Statistics: Regional Accounts.

Education

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure physical activity for every child and youth in day care and in school.

Mr Andy Kerr: We are seeking to ensure that every child in Scotland has access to services that support them in being physically active. Services should be at a level that children can meet the minimum activity required for health. The Executive has invested £24 million in Active Schools and more than 600 Active School Co-ordinators have already been recruited. The co-ordinators have developed programmes of high-quality opportunities to enable children to participate in regular, frequent, safe and fun activities incorporating physical activity, sport, play and active travel.

  In response to the PE Review Group report published on 14 June 2004, the Minister for Education and Young People outlined a 10-point action plan aimed at providing more time for physical education, more teachers of physical education and more choice in physical education. The Scottish Executive Education Department are working with Learning and Teaching Scotland, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) and other stakeholders to take this forward.

  For children of pre-school age, physical development and movement is one of the five key aspects of A Curriculum Framework for Children 3 to 5. This underpins the provision of pre-school education and providers are required to provide opportunities for physical activity both indoors and outdoors. In addition the National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16 include a requirement for children and young people to have the opportunity for energetic physical play. Quality in pre-school education and child care is ensured through inspection by HMIE and the Care Commission.

Ferry Services

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much more money it expects to provide as a subsidy to NorthLink Ferries for providing the ferry services to Orkney and Shetland from August 2005 to the end of the current contract in April 2006.

Tavish Scott: The subsidy currently being paid to NorthLink reflects an agreed budget covering the period 1 June to 30 November 2005. This budget envisages subsidy of £11.4 million being payable over that period. However, the actual subsidy payable will depend on trading performance over this period and the funding arrangements provide incentives to NorthLink to reduce costs and increase revenues whilst maintaining service standards. A further detailed budget covering the period from 1 December 2005 until the contract handover date will be discussed with NorthLink in due course.

Health

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures can be taken against (a) NHS organisations and (b) independent sector health providers which use recruitment agencies that are not included on the list of agencies compliant with the code of practice on international recruitment.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive has consulted with NHSScotland on adoption and implementation of a Scottish Code of Practice. A partnership approach has been taken through the Human Resources Forum and agreement in principle was secured. Further consultation with human resource managers will take place shortly and the independent sector will be involved in discussions through existing networks. It is expected that a Scottish version of the code will be launched later this year.

  Monitoring arrangements for the Scottish Code are still being finalised and options are being considered including utilising the current arrangements for the rest of the UK. To date no instances have been reported of NHSScotland recruiting outside the principles of the code.

  Ramifications of non-compliance would be that a letter of caution would be issued by me as Minister for Health to the chief executive of the health board in breach of the code.

Health

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many operations were cancelled within (a) seven days and (b) 24 hours of the appointment time in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not available from central statistical returns.

  However, the available information on the numbers of cancellations to planned admission for in-patient/day case care or cancellation of planned operations following in-patient/day case admission was provided in response to questions S2W-16549, S2W-16664 and S2W-17976 answered on 31 May 2005, 01 June 2005 and 16 August 2005 respectively. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Health

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget is for national demonstration projects for this year and each of the next three years.

Mr Andy Kerr: There are three national health demonstration projects dealing with the early years (Starting Well), heart health (Have a Heart Paisley) and sexual health of young people (Healthy Respect). They provide a testing ground for innovative action to improve health and tackle health inequalities. A second phase of the projects has now been approved, with Starting Well running to 2006 and the others until 2008.

  The total budget allocation for the three national health demonstration projects is given in the following table.

  

(£000)
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08


Have a Heart Paisley
£1,081
£1,430
£1,140


Healthy Respect
£667
£758
£590


Starting Well
£1,072
-
-


Total
£2,820
£2,188
£1,730



  When Executive funding ends, successful aspects of each project will be mainstreamed within the relevant NHS board’s normal activities.

  Three National Learning Networks share learning from the projects, as well as from the wider evidence base in the three topic areas. Lessons learned will be crucial in demonstrating effective action to improve health for the project client groups.

Health

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards have set up an osteoporosis service.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards have a physiotherapy programme in place for patients diagnosed with osteoporosis.

Mr Andy Kerr: The planning and provision of health care services is, in the first instance, a matter for NHS boards. All NHS boards are expected to provide suitable services for people with osteoporosis. To help them they are able to draw on a Scottish Needs Assessment Programme on osteoporosis, which was produced by the Public Health Institute of Scotland (PHIS) (now part of NHS Health Scotland), and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) good practice clinical guideline on the management of osteoporosis – SIGN Guideline 71.

Health

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has provided to support those affected by chronic pain and their families in each year since 1999.

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it intends to provide to support those affected by chronic pain and their families in each of the remaining years of this parliamentary session.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally. NHS boards are given unified budgets, increased by an average of 7.6% in the current financial year, from which they would be expected to meet the costs of treatment for people with chronic pain.

Health

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards treat NHS patients for (a) knee replacement surgery, (b) cataract surgery, (c) hernia repair and (d) hip replacement surgery.

Mr Andy Kerr: All 15 NHS boards provide cataract surgery and hernia repair surgery locally, and all NHS boards, except NHS Orkney and NHS Shetland, provide hip and knee joint replacement surgery locally. NHS Grampian provides hip and knee joint replacement surgery for patients from Orkney and Shetland. The Golden Jubilee National Hospital also performs all four surgical procedures.

Health and Safety

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Health and Safety Executive to publicise the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning and in what manner.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive and The Health and Safety Executive are in regular discussion about a range of health and safety issues including the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Health and Safety

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the resources available to statutory, private or voluntary organisations to publicise the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally.

Health and Safety

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the measures taken to raise the awareness of (a) general practitioners and (b) NHS staff in respect of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Mr Andy Kerr: In 2001, the Chief Medical officer wrote to all NHS boards, Directors of Public Health and former NHS trusts to draw attention to the leaflet Carbon Monoxide: the forgotten killer produced by Scottish Gas. British Gas also directly distributed over 1.4 million leaflets to health centres and Citizens Advice Bureaux across the UK.

  This was part of the Scottish Executive’s continuing support for the on-going gas safety campaign by Scottish Gas which has since included the issue of an updated version of this leaflet Winter flu(e) alert in 2003 and a campaign in 2004 Vent or Repent aimed specifically at students.

  In addition, the Health and Safety Executive publish several leaflets on gas safety, including carbon monoxide risks. A wide variety of other bodies also work to raise awareness, these include Age Concern, Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the National Caravan Council.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much is being spent on ways to counter vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in hospitals.

Mr Andy Kerr: In March 2005 the Executive launched its Clean Hospitals Campaign, which builds on the extensive work programme of the Ministerial Healthcare Associated Infection Task Force. The focus of the campaign is to prevent and control the spread of HAIs (including VRE) by ensuring that good hygiene procedures are embedded into everyday practice. £15 million has been allocated for this purpose over three years (2005-06 to 2007-08).

  NHS Boards are taking extensive and wide-ranging measures to prevent and control HAIs, including VRE. Information on the specific local spend on VRE is not available, as many of the measures effective against VRE will be aimed at tackling HAIs generally.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional guidelines will be put place to combat the emerging spread of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in hospitals.

Mr Andy Kerr: The measures to control VRE are largely those which are being put in place to control other health care associated infections (HAIs), such as standard infection control precautions, isolation of infected patients, routine scrupulous hand hygiene with use of alcohol based handrubs, and prudent prescribing of antibiotics.

  A raft of infection prevention and control standards, professional guidance, education and training programmes and clear staff roles and responsibilities has been produced by the collaborative work programmes of the Ministerial HAI Task Force, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, NHS Education for Scotland, NHS Health Protection Scotland, and others. Work is underway to improve surveillance and monitoring of VRE and other antibiotic resistant infections. Guidance on prudent antibiotic prescribing in hospitals will be published in the very near future.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) there have been in each of the last three years, broken down NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: Data is not available specifically for cases of vancomycin-resistant enterococci. However, Health Protection Scotland (HPS) produces quarterly figures on the number of reported cases of all glycopeptide-resistant enterococci (which includes vancomycin-resistant strains). These are available on the HPS website ( www.show.scot.nhs.uk/scieh/PDF/pdf2005/0518.pdf ), but not by health board or by type of infection – at least some of these reports will, for example, relate to symptomless carriage of the infection rather than illness.

  Data collection and reporting on glycopeptide-resistant enterococci is recognised as being incomplete and inconsistent at present, which makes interpretation of reported cases very difficult. Several initiatives are planned to improve this situation.

Immigration

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to the Home Office about the refusal of visa entry to competitors in sporting events and cultural events in Scotland.

Patricia Ferguson: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-18029 on 4 August 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Multiple Sclerosis

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has provided to support those affected by multiple sclerosis and their families in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: Full information is not held centrally. NHS boards are given unified budgets, increased by an average of 7.6% in the current financial year, from which they would be expected to meet the costs of treatment for people with multiple sclerosis.

  The Executive provided pump-priming funding towards the development of a Managed Care Network for people with MS in Forth Valley. This amounted to £50,000 each year for three years.

Multiple Sclerosis

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it intends to provide to support those affected by multiple sclerosis and their families in each of the remaining years of this parliamentary session.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive does not allocate NHS funds on the basis of particular conditions. NHS boards are given unified budgets from which they are expected to meet the costs of treatment for people with multiple sclerosis and other conditions.

NHS Equipment

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to S2W-17065 by Mr Andy Kerr on 13 June 2005, whether all DEXA scans are reported and, if not, from which scanners are scans produced but not reported.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not held centrally.

NHS Staff

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dedicated osteoporosis nurses there are in each NHS board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: At 10 February 2005, there were three osteoporosis specialist nurses in NHSScotland, all within NHS Greater Glasgow.

NHS Staff

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many osteoporosis consultants there are in each NHS board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: Centrally held information on consultants can provide a breakdown by specialty only and does not allow the identification of posts attached to specific diagnoses. Osteoporosis is a condition that may be treated by a number of medical specialties, including; rheumatology, orthopaedics, primary care, community gynaecology, trauma and, endocrinology. However, the majority of patients diagnosed with osteoporosis will be treated in the specialty of orthopaedics. Information on NHS Scotland consultants is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, www.isdscotland.org/workforce . Section B gives details of the consultant staff in post in NHS Scotland. In particular, table B8 and B9 shows consultants by time, specialty and NHS board. Latest available figures are at 31 March 2005.

NHS Waiting Times

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set for waiting times for (a) patients requiring an initial out-patient appointment with an eye specialist and (b) second and subsequent out-patient appointments.

Mr Andy Kerr: All NHS boards are working to ensure that they meet the Executive’s target of a maximum waiting time of 26 weeks for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant, following referral by a general medical/dental practitioner by 31 December 2005. This target, which applies to first out-patient appointments in the specialty of Ophthalmology, will be reduced to 18 weeks from the end of 2007.

  No target has been set for second and subsequent out-patient appointments.

Police

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is giving the police in the use of information technology to improve the efficiency of the police service.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive provided £3 million funding to the Scottish Police Information Strategy in 2005-06 to lead and drive the achievement of integrated IT systems for Scottish policing. When new applications and systems are being developed a high priority is attached to realising business benefits and efficiencies.

Police

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average response time to an emergency call to the police was in each year since 1997, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: This information is not held centrally.

Police

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of police time was spent on front-line policing in each year since 1997, broken down by police force area.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the number of police hours worked in each police force area in each month since July 2004.

Cathy Jamieson: This information is not held centrally. The deployment of police officers in each police force area is a matter for the relevant Chief Constable.

Police

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many traffic police have been employed in each of the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: This information is not held centrally. The deployment of resources between various functions is an operational matter for the Chief Constable.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of drug users currently within prison are expected to resume drug taking after release.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The SPS does not have such information. But we know that about three quarters of men and over 80% women entering prison have an addictions problem and about half of prisoners return to prison within two years. The SPS has a comprehensive Addictions Policy which provides the basis for the positive work conducted with those offenders who have an addiction problem. Our joint national Throughcare Addictions Service will provide further support to enable prisoners on release to sustain a drug free lifestyle.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-17638 by Cathy Jamieson on 26 July 2005, whether all the data collected by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons is reflected in the published reports.

Cathy Jamieson: Yes.

Roads

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it estimates that roadwork improvements to the Auchenkilns roundabout will be completed; what the original budget was for this project and what its latest estimate is of the cost of the current works.

Tavish Scott: The contractor expects the new junction to be fully open to traffic at Christmas 2005. The pre tender estimate for the construction of this scheme was £18.9 million. The tender price was more expensive than anticipated at £21.98 million. The contract is expected to cost £22.24 million, with the additional expenditure arising from the provision of additional sound insulation to contain traffic noise.

Roads

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to re-assess plans for the Dalkeith bypass in respect of integration into the existing transport network and the impact of the wellbeing of the local population and the natural environment, in light of the estimated cost of the bypass, the time that has elapsed since planning permission was granted and the changes in environmental and transport strategies since the early 1990s.

Tavish Scott: Statutory permissions are in place for the bypass and land has been acquired by the Scottish Executive. There are therefore no plans to formally reassess the proposals.

Roads

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will bring the A7 north of Galashiels within the trunk road network.

Tavish Scott: The A7 north of Galashiels was detrunked in 1996. There are no plans to bring it back into the trunk road network.

Roads

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to upgrade the A7 south of Galashiels.

Tavish Scott: A realignment of the A7 at Auchenrivock is in preparation and we hope to publish draft statutory orders later this year. A further scheme at Glenmayne is currently being reviewed.

Roads

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to implement the upgrading of the existing overtaking section of the A7 at Branxholm, as set out in the A7 Route Action Plan.

Tavish Scott: There are no current plans to implement the Branxholm scheme.

Roads

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to implement the upgrading of the existing overtaking section of the A7 at Mosspaul, as set out in the A7 Route Action Plan.

Tavish Scott: There are no current plans to implement the Mosspaul scheme.

Roads

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to implement the upgrading of the existing overtaking section of the A7 at Wrae, as set out in the A7 Route Action Plan.

Tavish Scott: There are no current plans to implement the Wrae scheme.

Roads

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the purpose is of the new roundabout on the former A1 road at East Linton; who took the decision to construct it, and how much it will cost.

Tavish Scott: East Lothian Council is responsible for the design and procurement of the roundabout. This £381,000 scheme is intended to improve access into East Linton following the change in traffic patterns brought about by the provision of the A1 Haddington to Dunbar Expressway. The cost will be met by the Scottish Executive as part of the detrunking package agreed with the council.

Scottish Enterprise

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that Scottish Enterprise complies with relevant industrial action legislation during the industrial action being taken by Careers Scotland staff.

Nicol Stephen: Under the terms of its Management Statement, Scottish Enterprise has full responsibility for conducting pay negotiations with its own staff. If negotiations collapse and industrial action takes place, it is therefore for Scottish Enterprise, as the employer, to ensure compliance with any relevant legislation.

Scottish Enterprise

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to resolve the industrial action being taken by Careers Scotland staff in light of recent actions by Scottish Enterprise to resolve the dispute.

Nicol Stephen: Under the delegated pay arrangements for Non Departmental Public Bodies, Scottish Enterprise has full responsibility for conducting pay negotiations with its own staff within the terms of a remit agreed beforehand with Scottish ministers. It is therefore for Scottish Enterprise, as the employer, to resolve the present industrial action. I will, however, continue to encourage Scottish Enterprise and the unions to resume negotiations as the best way of reaching agreement.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much is spent annually by its agencies on services from the Met Office.

Nicol Stephen: The total spend by the Executive and its agencies on services (rounded to the nearest £100) for the latest three full financial years is as follows.

  Financial Year 2002-03: £7,400

  Financial Year 2003-04: £4.300

  Financial Year 2004-05: £16,900.

  In addition, in both 2002-03 and 2003-04 the Executive provided over £1.3 million in core funding to the Met Office. However, as the core business of the Met Office lies largely within areas reserved for the UK Government it was agreed that from 31 March 2004 public expenditure for the majority of services from the Met Office would be transferred to Whitehall.

Smoking

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the report of the National Smoke Free Areas Implementation Group and accompanying guidelines in respect of the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005.

Lewis Macdonald: It is not the intention to publish a formal report of the group’s work. The guidance on how to comply with the smoke-free legislation, which has been developed in consultation with the group, will be issued in the autumn.